Sunny Leone to play a new-age Helen

TNN

January 19, 2012

The good news is that Sunny Leone is on board for Jism 2. But the bad news is that Jism 2 will not be shot in Darjeeling.

Pooja Bhatt, who signed on the actor this week, isn't disheartened though. The director, who will be producing a movie to be directed by Soni Razdan in 2013, wants to shoot the film in the hill station.

Says Pooja, "We signed on Sunny this week. She will play a woman caught in the crossfire of two men trying to seduce her and are in turn being seduced by her. The best part of casting Sunny is that she didn't have any background of the film or our body of work. She responded to my father's offer with an energy that was spontaneous. However, I will not reveal who that woman is under the sheet in the Jism 2 poster. Just as no one knows who the voice of Bigg Boss is, let the myth under the sheet remain."

About Sunny's role Pooja says, "It is the story of a girl who emerges from darkness to light. I've great respect for Sunny because she doesn't sell her profession as one being born out of tragedy. In the film, she works in the entertainment industry. Sunny plays a new-age Helen in Jism 2. Helen was a great combination of sensuality and grace. One doesn't get that combination in the so-called item girls of today's cinema. Sunny's character is a combination of dazzling beauty, intelligence and vulnerability." So, will it be Emraan Hashmi or Randeep Hooda opposite Sunny? "By the grace of God, Emraan is doing very well now. I can't expect that he will be sitting at home waiting for me to sign him on. Besides, I'm not interested in following a pattern of Mahesh Bhatt or Shagufta writing the lines and Emraan mouthing them. I want brand "Jism" and brand Murder to be different. I am considering Randeep for another film."

Hills calling for PoojaAnd that opens up the conversation regarding Pooja's next production. The premise is such that it one could be even more sensational than Jism 2. "Soni Razdan is developing a project for me. It is based on the facts of the Nanavati case and the way it was played out in a national magazine. This courtroom drama became a dazzling part of our history in 1959 and newspapers gave saturation coverage to the case. There was this beautiful and lonely housewife (Sylvia), who was married to a handsome naval officer (Kawas Manekshaw Nanavati). Then entered a charming Sindhi businessman (Prem Ahuja), who swept her off her feet while her husband was away on assignments. She couldn't pretend that nothing had happened when her husband returned home and cringed when he touched her. Her confession led to the naval commander confronting this man, who said he wouldn't marry every woman he slept with. The naval officer shot the businessman and headed straight to confess to the Provost Marshal of the Western Naval Command and on his advice, turned himself over to the Deputy Commissioner of Police. This was a landmark case and it was the last time in India that there was a jury in the court," Pooja insists.

Pooja and Soni are in the process of sourcing material from the publication whichcarried the story. "Dino Morea will be producing the movie with me. Since the case in the public domain, there will not be any copyright issue. Though we want to be authentic, we will also be deeply respectful to all the characters. We haven't yet decided whether or not to go with real names."

Pooja would like to shoot the film in Darjeeling. "I've told Soni that this is the right movie to be shot in Darjeeling. A part of Jism 2 will be shot in Delhi/Jaipur. I don't think it will make sense to shoot only a few songs of the film in Darjeeling. Soni is in love with the hill station. The movie is a period piece and it would be wonderful to set the whole film in the hills where the couple has a country home."